Ceres High School played like a team still trying to find its identity during last week’s season-opening football game against Hughson.

The new-look Bulldogs kept the game close in the first quarter before the defending CIF 5-AA champion Huskies pulled away for a 32-0 win Friday evening at CUSD Stadium.

Ceres High made a host of lineup changes heading into the 2023 campaign after losing 28 players to graduation from last year’s squad, which amassed an 8-3 record and qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.

“I knew this year would be a lot harder,” Bulldogs’ senior receiver Manny Mendoza said. “We lost a lot of players. It’s the beginning of the season. Give us a little time and we’ll get better. Honestly, I think we have a really solid team.”

The Bulldogs dropped to 0-1 on the year.

The Huskies improved to 1-0.

Ceres High mustered just 89 yards and committed two turnovers on offense.

Donovan Osuna completed 5 of 12 passes for 66 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions while making his debut at quarterback with the Bulldogs.

Brayden Clark also logged playing time at QB. He finished 6 of 10 for 28 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions during the second half.

Mendoza had 157 all-purpose yards.

He caught six passes for 72 yards.

He totaled 85 yards on three kickoff returns.

Isaac Vizcarra finished with 5 yards on two receptions.

Reis Smith (1-10), Daniel Davis (1-5) and David Diaz De Leon (1-3) each had one catch.

The Bulldogs had minus-5 yards rushing on 25 carries.

“We were the underdog,” Osuna said. “We wanted to show them that we weren’t nobody to walk over. Even though we lost, I was happy with our team’s effort. We didn’t give up. We had a couple chances to score but couldn’t do it. If I played better, we would have put points on the board. I played nervous because it was my debut. It wasn’t because of the competition.”

Hughson piled up 405 yards of total offense.

Robert McDaniel completed 11 of 22 passes for 214 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

He also had a rushing TD.

Malakai Sumter caught two passes for 38 yards and one touchdown.

David Delgado finished with 32 yards and one touchdown on two receptions.

Larkin Meyer totaled 116 yards on four catches.

The Huskies had 191 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Alexander Villarreal ran for 67 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries.

Cesar Ramos rushed for 6 yards and one touchdown on three carries.

David Burns gained 72 yards on three carries.

Ceres High junior Manny Mendoza led the way on defense with five tackles, one interception and one pass deflection.

Isaac Vizcarra had four tackles and one sack.

Zion Rochell had three tackles and one sack.

Isaiah Cardona had one tackle and one forced fumble.

Anies Preciado had one fumble recovery.

Nikahli Garcia, Reis Smith, Michael Solis and Tre Karriem chipped in with eight, six, five and three tackles, respectively.

Delgado led Hughson’s defensive unit with five tackles and two sacks.

Jesus Artea had three tackles and one interception.

Carlos Guizar had two tackles, one sack and one pass deflection.

Meyer had two tackles, one interception and one pass deflection.

Ryan Borrelli had one tackle and one sack.

Burns had eight tackles.

The Bulldogs trailed by just six points at the end of the first quarter.

The Huskies scored two touchdowns while extending their lead to 19-0 in the second quarter.

Ceres High had a chance to cut the deficit to 13 points just before halftime but turned the ball over inside Hughson’s 5-yard line.

“We knew it was going to be a challenge,” senior Manny Mendoza said. “I’m proud of how we finished. We didn’t give up.”

“Our kids battled,” Bulldogs’ head coach Brett Johnson added. “They competed well. We had opportunities, offensively. We just made too many mistakes. We couldn’t get in sync.”

Ceres High had the right mindset heading into its season-opening contest versus Hughson.

“The locker room before the game was intense,” senior Manny Mendoza said. “We had the music going. The team was locked in. We were looking forward to the game. We were excited.” 

“State champs or not, it’s just another team,” he added. “We’re all in high school. We wanted to go out there and make a statement. It wasn’t the outcome we wanted. The effort was still 100 percent.”

Ceres High was supposed to play host to Delhi (0-1) this Friday but the game was called off.

The Hawks don’t have enough players to field a team after suspensions were handed down following their season opener. Officials stopped the Delhi-El Capitan contest in the third quarter due to fighting.

“I didn’t find out until we started practicing today (Monday),” Johnson said. “The word came in it was canceled. At the moment, we don’t have a game. Unless something gets set up by tomorrow (Tuesday), we’re not going to play. It’s a bummer. Our kids lost an opportunity to play a full, 10-game season their senior year.”